Raw Feeding & Diets?

I am going to put my dogs on a Raw Diet, but I have some questions on what and how much to feed.



To feed a dog a raw diet, does this mean, I go to my local grocery store, pick up bags of chicken drumsticks/wings/necks and start feeding to them raw? Or do i need to do something else to it?



Also, how much should I feed? I have two boxer puppies (6 months, 40 pounds). And what about vegetables. What types should I give? I also read that you shouldnt give raw vegetables, but you have to grind it up. Is this true?



I know you can buy packages of raw/barf food, but I would like to do it on my own. I have been searching through the web, but if any of you can provide some experience or recipes, that would be great. Thanks!Raw Feeding %26amp; Diets?
If you have boxers, I would not suggest using chicken, but rather beef and lamb meat and bones. The best thing I've heard is to find a butcher and see if you can buy the meaty bones he has left over after cutting off the muscle meat. You can also buy just regular beef and lamb, but the meaty bones are supposed to be a large part of the diet. I would also suggest you offer the raw food to them while still offering their old food, for at least a week or two to allow their digestive systems to switch over.



You can give some raw veggies, but there are a lot you should avoid. Raw carrots are one of the best choices. Avoid corn, wet greens like celery and lettuce, and broccoli. Raw sweet potato is also very good. There's no need to grind them up, just wash them well, chop them into edible pieces, and serve.



Small amounts of plain yogurt or cottage cheese can be good once or twice a week. Do not use milk, cream, regular cheese, or other dairy products. Do not use anything with soy either.



Some people suggest you add small amounts of barley or bran once or twice a week as well. Limit processed grains though, as it's not a major part of their diet. (Non-meat products ARE a natural part of a wild dog's diet; they eat the stomach of their prey, which contains seeds, grasses, grains, vegetable matter, etc. But it should be a very small portion of their total intake.)



Once every 2 weeks, you can offer small amounts of blueberries and cranberries. The antioxidants are good for them, but other fruits should not be offered, and the berries should be a very infrequent treat.



I also suggest the addition of:

-dog formulated vitamins

-flaxseed

-salmon oil

-glucosamine/chondroitin



You don't have to use all of them all the time, maybe just use a different one every other day or so, to make sure they're getting what they need. At least 80% of their diet should be the raw bones and meat, with the veggies, grains, and supplements combining for the other 20%.



Good luck! You're making a good choice, dogs are much healthier this way.



(Ignore the people who are opposed to this- any intelligent person can figure out that a dog was never meant to eat a dry processed kibble that is most corn and ground bones.)Raw Feeding %26amp; Diets?
I don't know if your local grocery stores will do this, but I get free raw meat from the local stores where I live. At around 4:00pm I go to the butchers cutting room and ask for "scraps" . If they have them, one of the guys picks up the heavy box and puts it in my cart. Its filled with assorted meat, chicken, beef,pork, lamb and once in a while some fish.

Sometimes they tell me that someone already took them.



I've had dogs all my life, and I don't feed them by their weight or do any measuring with food, I just give them as much as I think they could eat. That has always worked none of my dogs are ever skinny or fat.



It wouldn't hurt to ask the butchers at your store if they give out scraps. Maybe they already do for others who ask. Not a lot of people in my town know about it, I try to keep it a secret over here.
Please don't buy the larger bones suggested like lamb, beef, etcetera, unless you're going to use them as raw meaty bones and then take the bones away when the meat is gone. Larger bones can break dogs' teeth. With the chicken and smaller meat parts, you can let them eat bones and all. I personally feed my dogs a prey-model raw diet and do not include vegetables. I highly encourage to you to visit the Raw Food Diet forum on Dogster.com . The dogs and their owners are VERY helpful and supportive in giving tips and information on raw diets. Oh, and I think that you weigh your dogs and feed them two to three percent of their weight in raw meat each day.Raw Feeding %26amp; Diets?
I feed a raw prey model diet. All you need to feed is 80% meat, 10% edible bone, and 10% organ meat (with no more than 5% of that being liver!)



It is really easy. You can read about it at:



www.rawmeatybones.com

www.rawfed.com/myths

www.rawlearning.com

www.rawfeddogs.net



and if you want more help with amounts, support, info, etc:



Join this yahoo group:



http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/rawfe鈥?/a>



Or if you have more questions, feel free to e-mail me.



Add: I wouldn't mess with the veggies... Dogs don't have the enzymes necessary to break down the cellular walls of plant matter (which is why it would have to be juiced/pureed. And, dogs have no need for carbohydrates in the form of veggies- they are carnivores.)



Good luck.
I personally don't do raw diets, but if a person wants to do it, and wants to do it right, there are some very educated, dedicated folks on Yahoo groups that might be able to help you. Look under BARF when looking for advice, as many of the folks I know call it "BARF", which stands for "Bones And Raw Foods". Good luck.Raw Feeding %26amp; Diets?
Jocelyn:-80% meat? 10% bones? What raw diet are your dogs on? A raw diet should consist of around 60 - 65% Raw Meaty Bones (note the meaty).....a lot of people mistake Rmb's for just bones.....the *meat* is important. It means cuts like chicken wings, which have the correct proportion of meat/skin/bone. Around 10% offal, which should consist of liver, heart, kidney alternated over the week. The rest should be other meats, of which tripe can be high on the menu.



I have fed raw for 13 years, and my dogs are super on it. As for e-coli, etc. Dogs digestive systems are built to cope with such bacteria. I have never had any bacterial infections in my dogs in all this time. In fact, in all these years, I have never been to a vet *at all* for any illness.



Below is a diet I used with my dogs to start off with. The cereal and veg I no longer use.......you can give tripe instead of cereal, and other meats.



RAW CHICKEN WING DIET FOR DOGS

The following is based on a dog weighing 25lb. (11kilo) Adjust accordingly for your dogs weight. For pups, adjust for weight, then multiply by two.

MORNING

Roughly 1/2 to 2/3 SMALL MUG ( 1 鈥?1 1/2oz) PORRIDGE OATS,

pinch Lo-salt

Soak above overnight with cold water; in morning add:-

1 Mug (2 1/2 to 3 ozs oz) cooked vegetables [ See Notes.]

4 Philips Brewers Yeast tablets.

1 teaspoon desiccated coconut.

1 teaspoon Cold pressed Sunflower oil. (Five days per week.)

1 teaspoon cod liver oil. (Two days per week.)

1 - 1 1/2 ozs offal [ See Notes.]

1 100iu Vit E capsule once per week.



EVENING

9ozs MINCED RAW CHICKEN WINGS, 5 days per week.

7ozs MINCED BEEF, 2 days per week.

4 Brewers Yeast tablets.



Notes:-



Vegetables. Give a good selection over the week of veg that's in season. E.g. Carrots, turnip, cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, etc.



Offal. Give a selection of heart, kidneys, liver, tripe, over the week.



If you want any help with a raw diet, you are welcome to join the list below.
don't feed them a raw diet! Feed them PURINA dog chow or IAMS. I gave my german shepard that and now hes one and he wieghs 100 pounds!!!! Human food is nothing for a dog.
I would never recommend a raw diet for any dog. People claim that dogs in the wild eat raw food and so forth but in truth dogs eat meat that is still at body temperature to fight off disease. Butchered raw meats contain salmonella, bochilism, Shigella, Staphylococcus aureus, Campylobacter jejuni, monocytogenes, and other harmful bacteria. Personally I would recomend a high quality dog food such as Innova Evo, which has no fillers or Canidae which has brown rice but this is the only filler. They offer the benifits of a raw diet but without the increased risk of infection. Dogs are more suseptable to disease that humans especially when it comes to food borne illness. Dogs with leptospirosis die within a couple of weeks while humans take months before symptoms even occure. Don't assume that a dog is more durable than they really are.
Consider cooked. Human grade food frequently contains high levels of bacteria since it is intended for cooking.



Due to their short digestive system, dogs are not nearly as susceptible to these as humans, but in the quantity you find in our food they still get sick more frequently with raw than cooked. That is why racing greyhounds have such a very high rate of E.Coli compared to other dogs.



Note: Im not saying dont do it, just consider both with bacteria levels in mind when you decide for sure.

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As for what is needed-its a bit more complicated than that. Youre going to want to grab a book or two, or just use someone else's recipe-there are good resources for both.



For grain, use wheat pasta or brown rice, not white. Dont use corn at all.



Remember, dogs are omnivores, not carnivores. The food should be pretty balanced, not all meat.



Many spices will add benefit to the food. Garlic (dont use until you know exactly how) will help fight worms for example.



All oils (cod liver, olive, etc) should be extra virgin cold pressed if possible.